His pathway to victory rested entirely on us—my spells, the guys’ drugs.
Which meant we still had a bargaining chip.
No idea how much it was worth, but there was only one way to find out…
“Suppose we tell you to take your grand plans and fuck off?” I asked. “Suppose we throw ourselves over the wall the first chance we get, sparing your guards the trouble?”
At that, his eyes widened a fraction, as if it hadn’t occurred to him that we’d be anything less than compliant in the face of his threats.
Cards shown, asshole. Cards fucking shown.
“You’ve got demands,” I pressed on. “You’ve stated them. You need me to do a ritual summoning. You need the guys to make a better, stronger pill to dose your enemies.”
“Was something about that unclear?” he asked.
I folded my arms across my chest and shrugged. “Only the part where I tell you what we want in return.”
“I do not take orders from captives.”
A low rumble vibrated through Hudson’s chest, but I smiled to let him know I was just fine.
“It’s not an order,” I said to Keradoc. “It’s a bargain.”
He laughed. That purple-eyed fae fucker actually laughed at me. “You and your pets are hardly in a position to trade.”
I got to my feet and leaned forward, hands on the table, just like him. We were so close, our noses were almost touching. A ripple of unease moved through the soldiers on the perimeter, but Keradoc raised a hand, silencing them.
“Look around, Keradoc,” I said, my voice just as low and dangerous as his. “Take a good fucking look at who you’re dealing with here. You think the threat of pain scares any of us? You think we haven’t endured our share of torture?” I laughed at the ridiculous notion of it. “Do you honestly believe you’re the first asshole in my life who threatened to put his hands or weapons on me just to get what he wanted? Now, you may think I’ve got pull with Darkwinter fae, but let me tell you something,sir. Before I stepped foot in your realm, Darkwinter assholes and their human hunter minions kidnapped me, imprisoned me, tortured me, and killed people that I cared about. I’ve been stabbed, electrocuted, poked and prodded, starved, whipped, beaten, burned, cut, waterboarded, and those were the more pleasant abuses. Jax is a demon, for fuck’s sake. You think you’ve got something on hell’s torture chambers? Hudson doesn’t even speak, so you can use your imagination on what happened there, but I’m guessing he didn’t stop talking just because he lost a bet. And Elian? He’s his own best torturer-in-chief, and the only way he can survive another day with his ghosts is to pop those little pills you’re so ready to feed to your enemy. Now, tell me again how we’re supposed to cower under the threat ofyourwhips and brands.”
Tension crackled on the air between us, my heart jackhammering against my ribs, Keradoc’s eyes sharp with anger and mistrust and—though he was tryingdamnhard not to show it—raw, uncut lust.
As much as I hated to admit it, I was pretty sure he saw the same thing reflected in my gaze.
No matter. I refused to look away. Refused to back down. Refused to give a fucking inch on this—it was too important.
Through a jaw clenched so tight it damn near trembled, the warlord finally spoke.
“State. Your. Requirements.”
“First, I need assurances my sisters will be kept safe. So whatever you need to tell Melantha to make that happen? Do it.”
“Your sisters have nothing to do with—”
“The only reason I came here at all was to protect them. If they’re not okay,I’mnot okay, and if I’m not okay? I’ve got nothing to offer you.”
“You seem to think I hold sway over the dark goddess.”
“Don’t you?”
“Melantha sent you to me in the hopes that I’d reverse her banishment and allow her to return to Midnight, which I cannot do. Very soon, word will likely reach her that I’ve captured her Darkwinter blood witch, yet I’ve made no move to commute her sentence. She will grant me no additional favors.”
“Then send anewword to her that the witch you captured at the Feast wasn’t me, but an imposter. Convince her that I haven’t yet arrived—you’re still waiting for your so-called gift.”
“Miss Barnes.Haley…” His eyes softened a fraction, the tiniest flicker of guilt shining through. “Eventually she’ll learn the truth. If Melantha is set on destroying your sisters, there’s nothing I or anyone else can do to prevent that.”
“Prevent it, no. But you can at least buy me some time to figure something else out.”
“But that’s—”
